BELLEVUE, WA – Monday’s federal court ruling that a ban on gun sales in Chicago is unconstitutional cited three significant Second Amendment Foundation court victories, and SAF founder Alan M. Gottlieb is delighted that his organization’s legal work “paved the way.”
“While this was not our case,” Gottlieb said, “Monday’s ruling by District Court Judge Edmond E. Chang would not have been possible had not SAF legal actions broken important new ground over the past 3 ½ years since our June 2010 Supreme Court victory in McDonald v. City of Chicago. We are very pleased at the outcome, and that Judge Chang cited McDonald, and also our Ezell v. City of Chicago and Moore v. Madigan victories in reaching his decision.”
The lawsuit that resulted in Monday’s ruling was brought by the Illinois Association of Firearms Retailers and three private citizens, Kenneth Pacholski, Kathryn Tyler and Michael Hall.
In his 35-page decision, Judge Chang noted that “certain fundamental rights are protected by the Constitution, put outside government’s reach, including the right to keep and bear arms for self-defense under the Second Amendment. This right must also include the right to acquire a firearm…”
He also observed that, “Chicago’s ordinance goes too far in outright banning legal buyers and legal dealers from engaging in lawful acquisitions and lawful sales of firearms…”
“Once again,” Gottlieb said, “it has taken a federal court ruling to convince city government that Chicago is not a city-state in the middle of the United States, but part of a nation that is bound by the Constitution and must honor all of its provisions, including the right to keep and bear arms.
“It is gratifying,” he added, “that Judge Chang, building on precedents established by previous SAF cases, has reinforced that notion. That SAF victories essentially blazed a new legal trail to stop Second Amendment erosion is rewarding, and it encourages us to continue our effort to win back firearms freedom one lawsuit at a time.”